For years, there have been a few girls at Mingus Union High School who’ve been grappling with an interest in wrestling — a daunting task without a full team.
Now, there is one.
“I wanted to start last year,” sophomore Marina Downey said during the team’s practice on Dec. 18. “But there was only one girl, so I was kind of nervous about getting into basically an all-boys team and then some of the girls invited me, so it was a good opportunity.”
“My friend, Payton [Lochridge], was like, ‘Do you want to join wrestling?’” sophomore Alexia Sneathen said. “I was like, ‘yeah.’ and I wanted to do it freshman year.”
New girls wrestling Head Coach Adam Earles said he has a daughter in seventh grade who’s his “demonstration dummy” and looking forward to being in wrestling once she gets to MUHS. He’s been involved in wrestling his whole life.
“I was helping throughout the summer, and we didn’t have a single girl,” Earles said.
Beginning their wrestling journey, all the athletes said they found it a lot of fun.
“It’s definitely one of the harder sports I’ve done,” junior Maddie Babcock said. “It’s physically and mentally challenging, especially in matches, because you get tired very easily and you have to do it multiple times.”
Babcock, who’s a flag football player and was announced the school district’s athlete of the month at the Mingus Union High School District Governing Board meeting on Dec. 11, said it’s different being in a one-versus-one sport rather than on a team.
“My first match was yesterday, and everybody was cheering for me, and that was really cool,” she said. “They were all helping me out, and they were all wanting me to do the best I can.”
Babcock said she and the other girls also cheered on the boys while they were wrestling.
“I really like the connection all of us have as a team,” sophomore Taylor Stevens said. “I’m also really liking pushing myself.”
Stevens said she won a match in the first tournament on Dec. 2 at Parker High School, but wasn’t able to complete the second one on Dec. 17 at Agua Fria High School because of a hyperextension injury in her arm. She said her injury is recovering nicely, though.
“Our first tournament that we had was a really good tournament,” Earles said. “[It] was all newer girls. They did really, really well. The other tournament’s been more experienced girls, and so it’s been a little bit rougher.”
“I think the sport is really good,” Stevens said “I think more people should definitely try it. It’s not as scary as it seems.”
Stevens said her goal is to win at least one more match before the season is over.
While Babcock lost her first match, she’s still optimistic about the rest of the season and said she wants to get top eight in the state in her weight class.
Downey said she’s competed in swimming and softball before, and is extremely grateful for Earles as the coach.
“I coach the little kids,” Earles said. “I’m with the [Mingus] Muckers [Youth Wrestling] program. I’ve coached with the Muckers program for four years.”
Earles said getting to know the athletes’ personalities has been one of his favorite parts of coaching this semester.
“So some of them are a little bit more aggressive,” he said. “Some are a little bit more timid. So it makes it kind of fun.”
Earles doesn’t work at Mingus, which has made his process of coaching a bit harder because he is less familiar with the school policies and other things he needs to worry about.
“I’m in construction,” he said. “ I know coaching with the Muckers, we’re a club, so I don’t have to worry about the scheduling for absences or scheduling busses.”
Earles said even though the athletes are newer and less experienced, he sees a lot of potential.
“I would like to start being a state contender,” Earles said. “Get top five in state in the next four or five years would be my aspiration. … There was not a single girl from Mingus at state the last two years, so I think we may be able to have a couple qualify.”
The girls will host a meet on Wednesday, Jan. 28, against Estrella Foothills and Camp Verde high schools.
